The “bombs-and-Jesus crowd” (Hunter Thompson’s decade-old description) – whose heart is in Dixie – has become the decisive voting bloc in American politics.
For nearly a century after the civil war Dixie voted solidly Democrat until a magic bullet in Dallas killed the last Yankee king and broke the spell. Soldier/ spy Bush traded New England for Texas, followed by millions of others, filling the south with voters. In 2000 and 2004 every former Confederate state supported the lad who was born to be king, while he lost the rest of the country in a landslide. Do the math: In last month’s election Bush Jr. received 100% of Dixie’s (142) electoral votes but only 36% of the non-Dixie states’ (396) votes.
As antiwar Republicans like to point out, the Democrats have been the war party, so why hope for change? Because of the change in demographics: the Dems were arguably the more warlike party when they were the Dixie party (and the chief Dem warmongers – Wilson, Truman and Johnson – were southerners). They no longer are.
Since the Kennedy assassination, three Democrats have won the presidency; all three were southerners who ran against non-southerners. The pattern is clear. Antiwar Democrats should start looking now for a male, fiscally conservative, Protestant, Southern, war vet with a conservative personal life (and a similar VP) to run in 2008 – getting past Hillary won’t be easy.
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Condescendingly British, perhaps, but worthwhile: see “Sword of Honor” and a worthwhile reply on Grim’s Hall blog.